Ssince the dawn of the twentieth century and the transversalization of existential thought, all generations have been concerned that they are at the end of history, witnessing the hysterical collapse of the social and political order. From the era of post-war nuclear anxiety to the sweet summers of the counterculture to the turn of the millennium, some factions are always afraid that they will be forced to let go of the world they understand to give way to a new fright. and confused. I would argue that the current generation of living human beings on Earth, having dealt over the last year with a global pandemic, a fascist attempt at incompetent takeover, the fracture and split of the world economy, and in some regions, the sky that burst into flames, has a more legitimate claim to this feeling than any that has ever occurred before.
If the last days of the year and their promise of vaccine deployment introduce a hint of hope, the dominant note of 2020 has been an acid apocalyptic point. The despair, boredom, frustration, and surreal delirium that defined the last twelve months have been articulated in writing over the past year; today we look to the future. Even with the real life that has taken the destructive maximalism of a Roland Emmerich film, we can still turn to films set in 2021 for perspectives on what previous generations imagined might await us. . And from these visions, whether dystopian or utopian, we may be able to begin to prepare for a year that cannot be worse than this. Read on for a survey of movie predictions about the potential dangers expected in the coming days:
Butcher shop
Simon Amstell’s BBC mockumentary sets out a whole chronology spanning from World War II to 2067, an ambitious account detailing how the UK of tomorrow will come to abandon the flesh and adopt a totally vegan lifestyle. The year 2021 appears prominently on this timeline, as the point at which a super swine flu goes down in Britain to claim a large number of bodies. The number of cattle plummets, pork prices soar and the population enters an “era of confusion” over what they are allowed to eat. At a time when the Daily Mail expects everyone to give up pizza and instead toast with toast, as a gesture of nationalist solidarity, food shortages stand out as a particularly worrying symptom of geopolitical unrest and viral preparation. Things go well in Amstell’s projections, as the British embrace veganism and learn to live harmoniously with animals (who are permeated by the power of speech, in the relaxing tones of Joanna Lumley). However, for many, life without the prospect of a dripping and unwrapped cheeseburger still represents a worse fate than death.
Johnny Mnemonic
In 1995, Robert Longo, a strange cult, predicted that the Internet would become too big and immersive for the good of humanity, ending up becoming so central to our daily actions that psychology would begin to eat us up. He also envisioned consolidating corporate influence in a handful of mega-conglomerates, with energy centralized around Asian markets. The only thing this cyberpunk seer was wrong about was that we would all look great as the world went to hell, equipping Keanu Reeves ’human flash drive and the pharmaceutical mercenaries chasing him in immaculate, slimming suits. Aesthetics aside: virtual styles would leave behind the greasy and primitive CGI of Longo’s electronic dimension; his notion of an online existence that consumes everything that displaces our own real-life experiences was correct. As younger generations struggle with the blurring of lines between their true selves and their selfish alter egos on social media, Johnny’s neural implants that revolt his consciousness begin to seem redundant. A few years on Twitter can make melon ball holes in the brain just as easily.
Moon Zero Two
The august Hammer Film Productions reigned during the 1950s with their vividly bloody revivals of classic demons like Dracula, the Frankenstein monster and the Mummy. But the next decade saw its relevance begin to wane and let producers soar to figure out what the next big thing would be. The studio tried to focus on science fiction and was unsuccessful, its 1969 lunar adventure set aside by the public and critics for being ridiculous without being entirely funny. No matter the peanut gallery at the Mystery Science Theater 3000; there’s a substantial truth in director Roy Ward Baker’s treatment of space exploration as a gold rush sending capitalist competitors soaring to plant their flag. Rumors of a giant asteroid made of pure sapphire put an arrogant millionaire against a daring astronaut in a race to claim him, a conflict that is not so far from the crossroads between Virgin Galactic, Northrop Grumman and the half dozen other business interests. eager to market the galaxy. Baker had the foresight to realize that incineration by aliens would not be the main danger when venturing into other worlds, only the rich megalomaniacs returning home to Earth.
Resisting with you
The great Japanese animator Makoto Shinkai did not look too far ahead of this fantastic environmentalist parable, which jumped forward just two years after its release in 2019. He suggests that the future is now and that the issues raised by the subtext of his script already matter. present, that is, the concern based on global warming, rising water levels, and the inevitable global drowning. Tokyo teenager Hodaka can’t believe his eyes when he meets the ethereal Hina, a “sun girl” able to control the weather at the expense of the integrity of her own body. It is a finite natural resource, exhausted throughout the film until it has no choice but to drift into the sky just to keep the rains at bay. Shinkai’s unexpected conclusion, in which Hina returns to Earth and allows the sea to engulf much of Japan, makes the cheerful proposition that perhaps we are better off like this. We have lived too recklessly for too long, and if our species will get what it deserves, all we can do is accept our self-made destiny and try to find some inner peace.
Recycle
A devastated land, gangs of survivors, insectoid invaders, you know the drill. What differentiates this Filipino production from the many similar entries of its genre is its artistic garbage medium, the production design guided by the plot point of the universe that manufacturing has ceased due to lack of materials and that the human race has become a kind of sewage treatment plant. Using the rubbish they can get, the rebellion will have to launch an offensive against the mutated “locusts” and homo sapiens, while retaining the classified location of the recyclable sanctuary known as Paradise. Their struggle for freedom begins with everyone on their knees in a problem that many continue to deny today, as expanding land masses of plastic float disastrously in the middle of the Pacific. Reality faces tough physical boundaries everywhere (cloud servers for data storage, the non-viability of fossil fuels) and we will soon have to learn to settle for what we have. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time until we all subsist on gelatin made from ground cockroaches, even though this one comes from Snowpiercer.
Looking for a friend from the end of the world
All of these films represent negative results, but Lorene Scafaria’s feature film debut is the only one that finds an optimistic way to see all the devastation. His unknown comedy begins with the news that we all have three weeks before a massive burning rock obliterates our fragile blue-green marble and extinguishes it for life. For the suicidal middle-aged Dodge Petersen (Steve Carell), the certainty of annihilation shakes him from his stupor and teaches him to appreciate the time he has left, especially with the charming Penny Lockhart (Keira Knightley). on a road trip at the end of the days. They find comfort in each other, an objective lesson on how to stay sane during an emergency that makes everyone run like Chicken Little. Whether our forgetfulness comes through organic or artificial means, we will only have one another to get light in those dark days. Some may choose to defend themselves, but some may admit the great cataclysm that befalls us, and they may have the right idea. Would you rather live for 50 years in austere and dangerous conditions or spend a short but glorious time without pain and consequences?